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Archive for Deaths in 2010

Died 2nd June 2010.

Rachael Slack (38) and her 23-month-old son, Auden, were killed on 2nd June 2010, by her former partner Andrew Cairns (44), who then killed himself. Mother and son were stabbed to death at their home in Well Yard, Holbrook. Rachael Slack was an artist.

It was just six days after she had asked officers from Derbyshire Police to intervene when because Cairns had threatened to kill her and take the child.

Cairns, who was the father of Auden, stabbed the toddler to death in Ms Slack’s cottage in Holbrook, Derbyshire, before turning the knife on her. He then fatally stabbed himself, positioning himself on top of Ms Slack. Ms Slack was stabbed 32 times in the chest and back and Auden was stabbed 16 times.

In October 2012, an inquest jury in Derby found that mother and son had been unlawfully killed by Cairns, who went on to take his own life.

After a six week hearing Derbyshire police were singled out for criticism by the inquest jury. The jury ruled that police failings “more than minimally” contributed to the deaths.

The jury was told that Cairns’ mental health had declined since the break-up of his relationship with Ms Slack in 2009.

Evidence showed Ms Slack had been in contact with Derbyshire Police about her concerns about Cairns and his mental health after she told him about her new relationship and pregnancy. On 26th May 2010, Ms Slack drove him to the police station because she was worried about his behaviour. He was detained under the Mental Health Act, but released after an assessment by health professionals. A psychiatrist assessed him as at low risk of suicide and no risk to others.

The following day he was arrested for making threats to kill Miss Slack. He said “”You’re a ******* bitch for abandoning me and getting together with someone else and getting pregnant. I’ve given up everything to be with you, if you are going to make it difficult, I’ll make it more so, you’ve no idea of what I’m capable of, I’ll kill you and take him (Auden) with me.”

No action was taken and he was released on police bail after being warned to stay away from her.

The police had assessed Ms Slack and her son as being at “high risk” of homicide at the hands of her ex-partner, but they failed to warn her of the danger she was in, or to discuss with her adequate steps that could be taken to better protect them both – failures that the jury found “more than minimally” contributed to their deaths.

When asked by the Coroner why more hadn’t been done to protect Ms Slack, Detective Chief Inspector Goacher replied that the house was secure and that most “normal, reasonable individuals” abide by their bail conditions. He also confirmed the child was killed first in front of his mother.

Police also confirmed Cairns tried repeatedly to speak to Ms Slack by telephone, after he was bailed.

As the coroner concluded the inquest by warning of an “epidemic” of domestic violence in the UK, Ms Slack’s family repeated calls made by victims and relatives of those affected for a public inquiry into how the state fails vulnerable women.

The family’s lawyers told the Guardian they were suing Derbyshire police, mental health services and social services for failing to protect the mother and child. Ms Slack’s partner at the time of her death, Robert Barlow, said that “things need to change” in the way such cases are handled. He said

Dr Robert Hunter, the coroner for Derby and South Derbyshire, said he would be writing to the home secretary to call for changes in the law giving police greater powers to detain people suspected of domestic and sexual violence.

Hayden Slack, Rachael’s brother, said he wanted a public inquiry into domestic violence: “The space that has been left in our lives by the tragic loss of Rachael and Auden will never be filled and never should be. Rachael was a devoted mother, a beautiful and truly caring person with a positive outlook on life. We hope any failings identified as a result of this inquest will ensure lessons are learned that could protect the lives of other women and children threatened by domestic violence.”

Mr Slack’s lawyer, Sarah Ricca, said: ‘The particular tragedy of this case is that the lives of Rachael and Auden were lost after they were both assessed as being at high risk of homicide. Why did this assessment not lead to steps to protect Rachael and Auden?”

The national domestic violence charity Refuge also wants an official inquiry to investigate why victims of domestic violence are “still not getting the protection they deserve from the police and other state agencies”.

Karl Smethem, assistant chief constable of Derbyshire, expressed sympathy for Ms Slack’s family but said he was confident his force’s procedures for the investigation of domestic violence incidents met national guidelines in 2010. He said the force was actively investigating the threats Cairns made to Ms Slack at the time of the deaths adding: “We did take steps to ensure that Rachael and Auden’s home was secure.”

He said that as a result of two reviews the force had “developed and improved” its domestic violence policies and procedures. The inquest heard that Derbyshire police have now told officers to make it clear to victims if they are deemed at “high risk” of homicide.

Coroner Dr Robert Hunter told jurors that Cairns, a former golf tutor, had been known to psychiatric services for a “considerable number of years” and had been prescribed anti-depressants.

Dr Nitesh Painuly, the consultant psychiatrist who treated Cairns between early 2009 and March 2010 told the jury that knowing his mental health history would not have led him to predict the tragedy. He said that while he was his patient there had been a number of occasions when his depression worsened.

Dr Painuly said that in March 2010 Cairns stopped engaging with the mental health trust. The last time he saw Cairns was in March 2010, when he did not show “clinical signs of depression”, but was “very angry about the treatment we had been giving him” .

Dr Painuly said Cairns wanted a CT scan because he felt they were missing something.
An appointment with various mental health professionals was made for 4th May, 2010, but Cairns did not turn up. At the meeting the health professionals discussed the possibility that Cairns potentially had a “narcissistic personality disorder”. Dr Painuly described this to the inquest jury as someone who does not lose their childish sense of self-importance. He said: “In this personality disorder people remain quite self-obsessed and self-occupied.” adding “And there is some anger if their self-interest is hampered – there’s that sense of entitlement.”

The killer’s family expressed “extreme disappointment” at the failure to provide Cairns with what they called “the proper levels of care”. A statement on behalf of his sister, Diane Belshaw, said: “The family feel they and Andrew were totally let down by the mental health trust; he had mental health issues and was arrested under the Mental Health Act just days before.”

Derbyshire Healthcare, who had treated Cairns for depression for a number of years, said they had sent a “lessons learnt” memo to all staff.

After the deaths, Derbyshire police referred the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Its findings will be released later.

Note: This report was drawn from reports in the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, the Derby Telegraph and the Times.

Probably Died 29th April, 2010

Debbie Cooper, later briefly known as Debbie Starbuck, (44) from Nottingham, was probably killed on 29th April, 2010. She was a self-employed proofreader.

Her husband, Jamie Starbuck (now 36), from Nottingham, killed her eight days after their marriage and dismembered and burnt her remains at their home in Desford Close, Old Basford. He then pretended to be travelling abroad with her.

He admitted murder at Nottingham Crown Court and on 11th May 2013 was sentenced to life imprisonment. The judge ordered that he serve a minimum of 30 years.

It has not been established exactly how Ms Cooper died, but during the police’s investigation they found an unsent email from her killer that read: “I had planned for it to be quick… I never expected you to be so durable.”

Ms Cooper married her husband at West Bridgford register office on 21 April 2010 and was killed eight days later.

Timothy Spencer QC, prosecuting, said Ms Cooper had inherited £150,000 following the death of her mother. After he killed her, Starbuck used nearly £65,000 of her money to travel the world. He tried to cover up the crime by sending emails in Ms Cooper’s name, pretending they were travelling together. Starbuck was arrested at Heathrow Airport on 19th January after concerned friends of Debbie Cooper contacted the police and reported her missing in March 2012.

Judge Michael Stokes QC called it a “grotesque and inhumane act”. The judge said: “This case shows the categories of wickedness are never closed. On more than 75 homicides I’m trying hard to think of one as horrific as this. You knew she came from a strict Jewish background where cremation is wholly outside their tradition. You dismembered her body and burnt it. Even in death you stripped her of all dignity. It is difficult to imagine a more grotesque and inhumane act.” The judge said he was satisfied the murder was for “financial gain”. The judge told Starbuck “After you disposed of her remains, you plundered her account and set out to live the life of Riley”.

Speaking on behalf of Ms Cooper’s family Beth Jones said: “There are so many things about this that are almost impossible to bear. The unbelievable and shocking fact that she is dead, has been dead for so long and we didn’t even know. For nearly three years we thought we were communicating with her, living with the illusion that she was alive and happy and travelling around the world with Jamie. We are haunted and tormented by the suffering that she must have endured in the violent act that caused her death.”

Speaking after the sentencing today, Detective Chief Inspector Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, who led the investigation into Debbie Cooper’s disappearance and murder, said: “Even though concerns for Debbie were only reported last year, all our enquiries seemed to link back to Jamie as being the last person to see her alive. His activities seemed very strange and out of character, heading off suddenly on his travels. He was obviously running away from what he had done to Debbie. As part of routine enquiries, we emailed both Debbie and Jamie’s accounts asking them to make contact. Jamie never replied. However we later discovered that a number of emails claiming to be from Debbie, sent to her family and friends in an attempt to convince them she was alive, were actually sent on the same day and from exactly the same location as emails sent from Jamie to other people.”

Mr Griffin continued: “We have learnt that Jamie Starbuck is a very controlling man, who engineered a situation to ensure he could benefit financially from Debbie’s disappearance.
After admitting his guilt today, I hope Starbuck will now give Debbie’s family a chance to grieve and have a proper funeral by revealing where she is.”

Note: This report was drawn from reports in the Times, Daily Telegraph and the BBC.

Died 4th May 2010.

Suzanne Pilley (38), from Whitson Road, Edinburgh, disappeared in May 2010. She was a bookkeeper who worked for Infrastructure Managers Limited (IML) in Edinburgh’s Thistle Street. Ms Pilley’s body has never been found, but in March 2012, her work colleague and former partner David Gilroy (49) was found guilty of her murder.

A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh took just under 8 hours over three days to reach their majority verdict. Gilroy, from the Silverknowes area of Edinburgh, was convicted of carrying out the killing by “unknown means” on May 4 2010 and of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by concealing Ms Pilley’s body and driving it to various locations in Scotland in the boot of his car. Judge Lord Bracadale deferred sentence until 18th April to obtain background reports.

Ms Pilley’s family wept in court. In a statement issued through Lothian and Borders Police, her parents, Rob and Sylvia, said: “This day has been a long time coming but finally Suzanne has received the justice she deserved. As a family we continue to struggle to come to terms with losing her: we have lost our daughter but her memory lives on in everyone who knew her. Suzanne was a devoted daughter, a supportive friend and an exemplary colleague at work. She was a proud Scot who led a full and active life, and enjoyed the great outdoors, always walking, cycling and keeping fit. We have been met with nothing but kindness from her many friends during this time of great sorrow. We would like to express our gratitude to every police officer involved in the investigation and to Alex Prentice and his team for their efforts in bringing this case to a conclusion today. Although the trial has ended, our ordeal goes on, and we hope that one day we can lay our daughter to rest.”

Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the court that Ms Pilley, who was born and raised in Edinburgh and lived alone in her flat, was popular among her colleagues and friends.

She had a keen interest in the outdoors and enjoyed camping and cycling. He said: “It appears from Suzanne’s family and friends that Suzanne was keen to get married and start a family. Family life was something she had always craved.” Mr Prentice said of her family and friends: “The heartache suffered is increased by her remains never being located.”

Simon Peck, director of IML, said: “Suzanne was a much-loved friend and colleague. To have her snatched from her friends and her family in such a callous and cold-blooded way is something we’re all still dealing with. The revulsion and disgust felt towards David Gilroy cannot be expressed. To think that he went about his business in the days after he murdered Suzanne, pretending that nothing was amiss, is truly chilling. We owe a sincere debt of gratitude to the officers of Lothian and Borders Police for their tremendously diligent efforts in securing this conviction. I can only hope that this verdict gives some small degree of comfort to Suzanne’s parents and her many friends. But until David Gilroy reveals where Suzanne’s body lies, her family and friends will never be able to fully come to terms with her loss.”

Ms Pilley vanished without trace nearly two years ago after making a routine journey to work in Edinburgh city centre. It should have been a routine day. She boarded the buses she normally took from her Whitson Road flat to her work at IML, where she had worked for about two years.

She was spotted on CCTV buying food for the day at the nearby Sainsbury’s store.

But although her office was just a short walk away, she did not turn up for work that day – something her colleagues found unusual.

Piecing together why the divorcee would vanish in a city centre in the busiest part of the day, and where she could have gone, sparked a high-profile missing person inquiry and one of the most challenging investigations carried out by Lothian and Borders Police.

She had vanished and made no contact with relatives, there had been no activity on her credit cards and she had not made any arrangements for her pet cat to be fed.

As time went on, suspicion grew about Gilroy. Prosecutors said Ms Pilley was killed by him on the day she vanished in the basement of the Thistle Street building where they both worked. The case presented against Gilroy in court was an entirely circumstantial one but each strand led to a “compelling and convincing” case against him, prosecutors said.

Alex Prentice QC told the jury: “The Crown case is that Suzanne Pilley met David Gilroy on that morning; that they went to the basement in the building together, quite possibly with the consent of both, that he killed her, he placed her body in the recess, he got his car from home, brought it to the garage, placed her dead body in the boot, took her home and next day transported her to a lonely grave somewhere in Argyll, where she is now.”

The conviction was achieved in the absence of a body and without any direct witness evidence.

Evidence presented to the jury painted a picture of Gilroy as a deceitful, controlling individual, motivated by jealousy and driven to kill when Ms Pilley told him their relationship was over.

Ms Pilley’s mother said her daughter and Gilroy became lovers after Gilroy, who was married, left his wife. He moved into Ms Pilley’s flat in mid 2009. It was said that Ms Pilley believed she would find a permanent partnership with Gilroy, but it was reportedly a “turbulent” relationship and she soon tired of his “lies” and strange behaviour.

By spring 2010, Ms Pilley had ended the relationship.The day before she vanished, she spent the night with another man, Mark Brooks, a planning officer.

Gilroy, denied every charge against him. However, the evidence revealed a chain of bizarre behaviour by him, before and after Ms Pilley’s death, which the court heard exposed his guilt and revealed the calculated steps he took to cover up his crime. In the weeks leading up to her disappearance, Gilroy pestered Ms Pilley with more than 400 text messages. But as soon as she went missing, those messages stopped. Work colleagues spotted him looking “agitated”, “shaking” and “in shock” on the morning she disappeared.

The court heard that a dog specially trained to look for bodies found three areas of interest in the garage of the building where Ms Pilley and Gilroy had both worked. The dog also showed interest in the boot of Gilroy’s silver car, which was said to have had a smell of cleaning fluid or air freshener. However, no forensic evidence was found linking Gilroy or Ms Pilley to the garage or basement of the Thistle Street building.

The court heard Gilroy had scratches on his body around the time Ms Pilley vanished, which could have been caused by fingernails during a struggle. The court also heard that a flesh-coloured substance might have been used to cover an injury. Gilroy’s Vauxhall Vectra was spotted on CCTV travelling between Edinburgh and Lochgilphead, Argyll, the day after Ms Pilley disappeared.

Gilroy was employed as a regional operations manager at IML before his employment was terminated in July 2010. Previously, he had worked as a Royal Navy engineer.

Note: This report was compiled from reports in the Independent, the BBC and the Daily Mail.

Died November or December 2010.

Shauna Lee (36), who lived in a small flat in Meriden Street, Lower Coundon, Coventry, was a mother of nine children and pregnant with twins when she was killed, probably in November or early December of 2010. Her body has never been found.

On 5th March 2012, Karl Burman (24), of Foleshill, West Midlands, went on trial accused of murdering her. The Prosecution allege he previously confessed. He has pleaded not guilty.

Birmingham Crown Court heard Burman, became angry after Ms Lee told him she was pregnant. It is alleged he killed her with a lump hammer before chopping up her body using garden tools and dumping her remains in a wheelie bin.

Just a few days before her disappearance Ms Lee had told police that when she had told Burman she was pregnant he had taken her to hospital urging her to have an abortion. After they returned home, having not been seen by doctors, he was said to have repeatedly punched her in the stomach and on the back of the head in a 30 minute attack.

Ms Lee told police about the assault on 30th October, but police only spoke to Burman over a month later, on 5th December, by which time the Prosecution allege he had killed her.

According to the prosecutor Burman contacted police some months later on 15th May 2011. The court heard he then confessed to police, mental health experts and an adult supervisor.

Following his alleged disclosure, detectives launched an unsuccessful search for MsLee’s body parts, while Burman was detained under the Mental Health Act.

Police dogs trained to sniff out blood were deployed in Ms Lee’s her one-bed flat in Coventry. The jury was shown photographs of Ms Lee’s flat, allegedly with blood on the walls and floorboards.

At this time, there were reports from Ms Lee’s friends that her children, aged between one and 18, had been taken into care after an ex-partner became violent. They added that she had been beaten and had struggled to cope after the death of her mother.

Prosecutor Mark Wall QC told the court that Ms Lee’s body had never been found because she had been incinerated with household rubbish at the tip. He said Burman had chopped up her body and “chucked her away” in bin bags over a period of a week.

In interviews, Burman reportedly claimed that the killing was an assisted suicide because, he said, Ms Lee had asked him to kill her. Mr Wall said “He said he hit her over the head with a hammer”. Mr Wall added “He said he then chopped her up using “garden loppers“. He claimed it took him a day or two to chop her up.“He said after he chopped her up he put her in bin bags and chucked her away. All in all he said it took about seven days.“ Allegedly he also told police he was “enraged“ when he attacked her.

The court heard he had been taken to the Caludon Centre mental health unit at University Hospital where he was assessed. Burman allegedly told one expert he had “done her in“. At a later date he told an appropriate adult appointed to assist him during police questioning that he had killed Ms Lee and chopped her up using tools he had bought from Machine Mart.

Jurors were shown video footage, taken by police, showing the route household waste takes from a wheelie bin to an incinerator. The court heard that unless a bin is unusually heavy it is not inspected.

Note: This report was compiled from reports in the Daily Mirror, Coventry Telegraph and News Today.

Further Note: FOD asks why the police took so long to respond to Ms Lee’s complaint of a serious assault upon her, especially given that she was pregnant and therefore particularly vulnerable. It appears she reported the alleged offence in late October, but the alleged assailant was not interviewed until 5th December, by which time police believe she was dead.

Died 21st January 2012

Kate Mott (35), a nurse and mother of two children, was raped and strangled by her estranged and violent husband Brent Mott (32) at her home in Everard Road in Southport, Merseyside, on 21st January 2010. Mott was jailed for life on 11th August 2010 and ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years.

In January 2012, following an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), it was revealed that Police had dismissed Kate Mott’s complaint that he was harassing her, as a case of “bickering adults”. Despite telling police that Brent Mott, also a nurse, had ignored a court order to stay away from her and was eligible for arrest, no checks were made.

According to the IPCC, Kate Mott, who worked at Southport hospital with Brent Mott, had taken “appropriate legal steps” to protect herself and obtained a court order against her husband, which had attached a power of arrest. Merseyside Police failed to log it and 5 weeks later, Mott strangled her.

The IPCC unearthed “failings at each stage” after Ms Mott rang police in December 2009, to complain Mott was harassing her, in breach of the court order. When she sought help from Merseyside police, “errors” in the way it processed one of her calls led to it being handled incorrectly and “she did not receive the level of service she was

On 28th October, the International Day against Hate Crime, Vincent Tabak was convicted of the murder of Jo Yeates. It has emerged that, like Graham Coutts, who killed Brighton music teacher Jane Longhurst in 2003, Tabak was a consumer of sadistic pornography depicting strangulation of women.

A day earlier, serial killer Robert Black was convicted of the sadistic sexual assault and murder of Jennifer Cardy. He is known to have murdered at least 3 other girls and to have cruelly victimised others. On the same day there were reports of appeals by 3 recently convicted wife-killers. One was Jon Clinton, whose wife Dawn reportedly tried vainly to escape his abuse. According to a Crown Prosecution Service statement following his trial “Jon Clinton was a controlling husband and couldn’t accept Dawn’s increasing independence, so he killed her in cold blood….”

How extraordinary it is that under British law, despite the fact that these killers deliberately targeted females and assumed the right of life or death over them, none is considered to have been guilty of hate crime – nor could that possibility have formally been considered by investigating officers.

Racist and homophobic attacks and crimes against religious communities, disabled or transgendered people are deemed hate crimes and attract increased sentences. However, the law does not accept that hate crime against women exists – even when offenders repeatedly target the same or different women or use grossly sexist language during assaults. The law acknowledges that prejudice can give rise to violence, but fails to accept that attitudes of loathing and contempt for women make them a target too.

Between three and four women and girls die each week as a result of male violence, of which two are killed by partners and ex-partners. Although this is a higher annual death rate than existed during the years of Northern Ireland conflict and exceeds troop loss in Iraq and Afghanistan, no government has yet made safety for women and girls a political and financial priority, still less examined its roots in sexism and prejudice.

If Jo Yeates’ death had been tried as a hate crime it is unlikely that Vincent Tabak’s interest in images of violence against women could have been kept from the jury. It is also highly likely that the tariff set would have been higher than 20 years.

Died October 2010

Casey Brittle (21), described by her mother as a “beautiful bubbly girl”, lived in Nottingham and was the mother of a two year old daughter.

In October 2010 she was beaten to death in front of her child by her violent ex-partner, Sanchez Williams. She died from a series of injuries to her head, including a fractured jaw, cuts and bruising. Sanchez Williams was jailed for life for murder and will serve at least 25 years.

Ms Brittle’s daughter was heard crying and screaming as her mother was beaten to death. Four times the little girl walked into the room to find her father continuing the attack. A neighbour was said to have heard Ms Brittle’s daughter screaming “I want my mummy” as her father attacked her mother. She stayed in her bedroom on her own for two hours as her mother lay unconscious.

Ms Brittle had repeatedly called Nottinghamshire Police police for help, but they failed to intervene on 11 separate occasions.

On 18th October 2011, Amerdeep Somal, a commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), published a report which is highly critical of Nottinghamshire Police. She said that Sanchez, of Lathkill Close, Nottingham, was “well known to local police for his propensity for violence and threatening behaviour”.

She added “In this case it is clear that a number of officers failed to perform to the level expected of them and basic actions, that may have helped others see the full picture of her suffering, were not completed. No consideration was given to why Casey was reporting domestic abuse but then subsequently saying that she did not want police help.”

Police received allegations of domestic violence and abuse against Ms Brittle between September 2008 and August 2010. The IPCC report recorded a number of force and individual errors. The IPCC spokesperson said: “As a consequence of the investigation, six officers faced misconduct for their roles in three incidents, while a further four officers have been dealt with through unsatisfactory performance procedures. Aside from failures by individual officers, the investigation identified the lack of a thorough corporate approach to domestic abuse from Nottinghamshire Police. This resulted in a lack of knowledge and support for officers in their attempts to provide victims with the necessary support.”

Ms Brittle’s mother, Victoria Blower, said: “I know mistakes were made in dealing with previous attacks involving Casey, but there is only one person responsible for my daughter’s death and that is Sanchez Williams,” she said.

Ms Blower said “Although there is no way of knowing whether Casey could have been saved, I sincerely hope that in the future a better attitude towards women at risk will ensure their safety. I would also urge people not to close their own eyes and ears if they see or hear somebody experiencing domestic abuse, but to pick up the phone and call the police. You never know, it might be your call that saves a person’s life. It is too late for my beautiful bubbly girl, but don’t let it be your daughter, neighbour or friend who is next.”

This report was compiled from reports in the Yorkshire Post, Daily Mail and the Times.

Died 18th December 2010

Marie Stewart (30) was a graduate of Huddersfield University and worked with disabled children. She was also the devoted mother of two children. She lived in a house in Perseverance Place, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, and died there on 18th December 2011.

Andrew Lindo (29), her fiance and the father of her children, strangled her, cut her throat and stabbed her. He then cleaned the house, stored her body and pretended she had left him. Lindo used Ms Stewart’s mobile phone and Facebook page to mislead her family into believing that she had abandoned him and their two young children.

Lindo, a music teacher and band player, admitted manslaughter but denied murder. However, a jury at Bradford Crown Court rejected his claim that he lost his self-control after a row in which he falsely accused Ms Stewart of mistreating their young daughter. On 20th September 2011 the jury found him guilty of a murder described in court as “protracted and brutal”. Ms Stewart’s mother, Helen, and sister, Katie, wept in the public gallery as the jury returned its verdict.

On 21st September Lindo was sentenced to life imprisonment. The judge said he had revealed an “extraordinary and chilling lack of remorse”.

Michelle Colborne QC, for the prosecution, described Lindo as an “inveterate and accomplished liar” who was leading a double life when he killed Ms Stewart. Prosecutors said he put Ms Stewart’s family through “mental torture” as he deliberately damaged her reputation, suggesting she had deserted her young family for another man. Lindo posted a message on her Facebook profile saying she was having “fun in the sun”.

The jury heard that Lindo received great sympathy from Ms Stewart’s family. On Christmas Day Ms Stewart’s father, Robert (55) and sister Katie (26) visited the house to open presents, while her corpse was in the next room. Ms Colborne said that Ms Stewart’s family had been appalled when she failed to see her children over Christmas and missed her son’s first birthday. However, family members and friends became suspicious and the police were called. They searched the house and Ms Stewart’s body was found on 13th February 2011.

Lindo did not give evidence in the witness box, but described to police how he first strangled Ms Stewart and then, when she was still making noises, hit her with a child’s chair and tried to choke her with a belt. He dragged her down to the basement garage in a suitcase and finally killed her by stabbing her 12 times with a kitchen knife. The court heard he then stored her body in a flight bag in the garage.

The court heard that Lindo and Ms Stewart met at university, when he was studying music and she was studying health and community studies. She was at that time married to Martin Waldron, but the relationship broke down and by 2007 she and Lindo were living together and she was pregnant. They had a daughter in October 2007 and a son in January last year.

Jurors were told that Lindo was seen by friends and family as a doting father in a “perfect little family”. However, Lindo had had a series of affairs with several women and brought his latest lover, Angela Rylance, to the house just hours after the murder. The court heard that he would pretend he was a struggling single father living alone when women called.

Angela Rylance (29) described how she started a relationship with Lindo in August 2010 after he cashed a cheque in the money shop in Barnsley where she worked as a cashier. She said she began to doubt the defendant’s claim to be a single father, but he reassured her by telling her that Ms Stewart had left their children with him.

The murder happened on the first night Ms Rylance had been due to spend the night. After cleaning the scene he woke the children and drove to pick up Miss Rylance as arranged. Ms Rylance said she spent Christmas with the family without realising Ms Stewart’s body was in the house. She commented “He said what a fantastic Christmas it had been – the best one ever,”.

After Ms Stewart’s murder it was reported that Lindo had also been sexually involved with a 15-year-old school girl, who was one of his music students. He was not charged with this.The allegation emerged after he had been charged with murder.

It was also reported that while Ms Stewart was pregnant with their second child, Lindo was simultaneously involved with two women colleagues, Alison Doram (27) and Amy Wilde (26). Ms Doram, a dance teacher, had a five-month sexual relationship with Lindo. She too believed Ms Stewart had walked out on him and the children. She said “Andrew was really friendly and easy to talk to, a charmer,” adding “I believed I was in a relationship with him exclusively.”

She saw Miss Stewart’s Facebook page indicating she was living with Lindo, but he convinced Ms Doram it was a “tactic” in a custody dispute over their daughter. However, Ms Doram ended their relationship after reading on Facebook that Miss Stewart’s status had been changed to “engaged to Andrew” on Valentine’s Day 2010. She then spoke to Ms Wilde and discovered she had also had a romantic relationship with Lindo.

Lindo showed no emotion when the verdict was announced. The judge commented that in the future any parole board would have to consider his “extraordinary cunning and facility for deceit”.

Note: This report was compiled from reports in The Times, The Independent and The Daily Mail.

Died 19th or 20th November 2010

Linda Bakewell (45) was a successful solicitor, a director at Liverpool law firm Armstrong Solicitors. She died by asphyxiation on 19th or 20th November, 2010.

On 19th September 2011 at Chester Crown Court, Philip Martins (48), a machine operator of Somerford Walk, Widnes, Cheshire, went on trial charged with her murder. The court heard that Ms Bakewell’s body was found “naked, scraped and bruised” in the boot of Martins’ car days after she was last seen alive meeting him in a bar. Martins denies murder and says that Ms Bakewell accidentally died while performing consensual oral sex.

He claims he then panicked and did not know what to do with her body.

Anne Whyte QC, for the prosecution told the jury that it was “ beyond all doubt” that Ms Bakewell did not die as Martins had said. Ms Whyte said “She died because he manually and deliberately stopped her from breathing.” This could only be caused by compression of the neck or nose and mouth, or a combination of both, Ms Whyte said. A post mortem examination concluded that Ms Bakewell died of asphyxiation and also found she had suffered impact injuries to her head while she was still alive, the court was told.

Ms Bakewell, was described by witnesses as a “quiet, modest woman with a love for life”. Ms Whyte said she met Martins through mutual friends and that it was clear to everyone who knew them that the solicitor “really liked” him. However, Ms Whyte suggested he was “only too happy to take advantage of her affection and her wallet”. The court heard that only a week before her death, while Ms Bakewell was at a bar buying drinks, Martins referred to her as a “nuisance”. The jury heard from Ms Whyte that Martins would drink “quite heavily” and take cocaine, the effect of which was to make him “brasher, more obnoxious, boorish and self confident”.

It was reported that on the night of 19th November last year, Martins and Ms Backwell met in a pub in Widnes, then visited another pub before the solicitor drove herself and Martins to an isolated industrial estate where the car remained for one hour and 45 minutes. The prosecutor said “Our knowledge of what happened in that time is limited but what we do know is that Linda Bakewell was never seen alive again”.

The following day, a Saturday, Ms Bakewell failed to turn up to her parents’ house as planned and they became worried and contacted police. Ms Whyte said “She was almost certainly dead by then because it was so out of character for her to miss an appointment”.

Her sister went to her home and spent Saturday night there waiting for Ms Bakewell’s return.The barrister added: “While she was in the house, anxiously hoping and waiting, Linda’s naked corpse was lying under the kitchen table at Philip Martins’ home.”

Merseyside Police launched a missing persons inquiry and officers and her friends visited Martins’s house and asked if he had seen her. He said he had not, but five days after Ms Bakewell was last seen, on 25th November, police returned to Martins’ home and arrested him on suspicion of kidnap. The court heard that he then told officers: “She’s in the boot of my car.”

The jury heard that during interview, he told police he met Ms Bakewell in the early hours of 20th November and they drove to the industrial estate where she agreed to sexual activity. He said he noticed her head was slumped and thereafter realised she was dead. Ms Whyte said “He drove her back to his house and once he got there he dragged her body across the ground into the house and left her in the living room while he went to bed.

He accepts he made absolutely no attempt to resuscitate her and couldn’t explain why.”

Ms Bakewell’s body remained at the house for some days, being moved from the living room to the kitchen before Martins placed her in the boot of his car, the jury was told.

Ms Whyte told the jury: “Instead of doing what any person, in my view, would do and call for help he spent the next four days in callous indifference going about his business. We will never know what happened in those final moments before Linda Bakewell met her death.” She added “This death was no accident and, grimly, the evidence from the post mortem will prove that.”

This report was compiled from reports in the Daily Mail, the BBC and Liverpool Echo.

Note: The following comment was received from Tina on 14th November 2012

To our friend Linda, can’t believe its coming to two years since you were tragically taken away from us, goodness knows where that time has gone, I bet your looking after us up there in heaven, you are sadly missed Linda xxxxxxx

Update – 4th September 2011

On 2nd September 2011 at Swansea Crown Court Joshua Davies was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Trial judge Justice David Lloyd Jones said he should serve at least 14 years. He told Davies: “You have shown yourself to be devious, calculating and controlling.” adding “You have shown no remorse. You killed Rebecca in the most brutal way when you struck her repeatedly to the back of her head with a heavy stone, fragmenting her skull. Her death will leave a permanent shadow over the lives of members of her family, the effect of which has been devastating.”

The Court heard Davies was not suffering from any kind of psychiatric problems, and that he continued to deny he was responsible.

Sonia Oatley, the victim’s mother said her daughter had wanted to be a barrister, describing her as “a promising student, a wonderful friend but, most importantly, a loved and loving daughter and sister”.

Ms Oatley added “..Joshua Davies robbed us of watching our precious and perfect little girl flourish into a successful young woman. We will never forgive him for tearing our world apart so brutally and I would welcome the return of capital punishment for the likes of Joshua Davies, who forfeited his human rights when he chose to take my daughter’s life.”

She said: “I want him to be locked away for ever so that he won’t do this to another person, because I am convinced he will do it again. I relive Rebecca’s last moments over and over again, I have no peace, nothing to console me.The pain and horror of losing Rebecca in such horrendous circumstances cannot be put into words. She was killed in a senseless and barbaric act. She died at the hands of someone she loved and trusted.”

Ms Oatley said she had previously welcomed Davies into her home and hoped he would be a positive male role model for Rebecca’s little brother Jack.

The judge referred to Davies’ ‘deep-seated hatred’ towards Rebecca after their relationship ended. Davies regularly told friends of his plans to kill Rebecca, who was 5ft 2in and weighed just six stone, but the court heard they never took his ‘boasts’ seriously. He reportedly told his friends of plots to poison her with foxglove, drown her in a river or throw her off a cliff.

After Rebecca was dead, Davies tried to persuade friends to help him avoid detection by saying they had all been indoors together on the day of the murder.

Note: this report was compiled from reports in the Independent, The Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror and the Metro.

Died 23rd October 2010

Rebecca Aylward (15) also known as Becca Oatley, was found dead on Sunday 24th October, in an area known as Pennsylvania Woods, near Bridgend in Wales. She had been battered to death and died of head injuries. She was a pupil at Archbishop McGrath Catholic high school in Tondu.

On 18th November 2010 she was buried at Maesteg Cemetery following a requiem mass at Our Lady and St Patrick’s Church, Maesteg.

In a statement made at the time of her death Rebecca’s family said:

“Rebecca, also known as Becca, was dearly loved by all her family. She was loved by everyone including all her aunts, uncles and cousins. She will be sadly missed, she was a very happy young girl, she had an outgoing and bubbly personality,

“She was very motherly towards her younger brother and sister who absolutely adored her – they have been left devastated by her death … As a family we are all devastated by her untimely death and wish to be left alone to deal with our grief in private. Becca can never ever be replaced.”

The last confirmed sighting of Rebecca was on Sarn Hill at around 12.30pm on October 23, when she was dropped off by relatives to visit a friend. She was reported missing by her mother Sonia Oatley in the evening when she failed to return home.

In June 2011 the trial of Rebecca’s 16 year old former boyfriend began at Swansea Crown Court. He denies a charge of murder.

Greg Taylor QC prosecuting, said her alleged killer lured her to the secluded wood where he smashed her head with a rock.

He said: “It was raining and she was left for dead lying face down on the wet forest floor in new clothes that had been bought for her the day before.”

It is alleged that to divert suspicion from himself, the boy had previously told her to tell people that she was meeting someone else. However, she reportedly told her mother that she was about to meet the defendant.

Mr Taylor said the teenagers had briefly been in a relationship about a year before the murder and still had contact. Mr Taylor said the couple’s split had not been “amicable”. He added: “The boy said Rebecca tried to trick him into getting her pregnant.” She on the other hand had complained that “the boy refused to wear condoms.” Mr Taylor said that the accused had alleged that “Rebecca was going to go to the police and allege that he had raped her.”

The court heard that the defendant used to meet every Saturday at a local cafe with teenage friends where they had breakfast together. At one such meeting, it is alleged he openly discussed killing the girl. His friends later told police he had a reputation for saying he was going to do things he never carried out.

However, in a later text to one friend he asked: “What would you do if I actually did kill her?” to which the friend replies: “Oh, I would buy you breakfast.” The court heard that the subject of the murder allegedly became a regular text topic between the alleged killer and his male friend, until two days before the killing when the defendant contacted his friend to say “Don’t say anything but you may just owe me a breakfast.” According to Mr Taylor the friend replied, “Best text I have ever had mate. Seriously, if it is true I am happy to pay for a breakfast.” to which the defendant replied “I hope by then it will be done and dusted.”

The friend allegedly replied: “I want all the details. You sadistic b******.” The accused teenager added: “Large breakfast with extras of everything.” to which his friend allegedly replied “Sick, sick boy.”

Mr Taylor said the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, bragged to friends about the killing. He alleged the defendant said “Do you know how hard it is to break someone’s neck? She was facing away from me and I thought This is it, I’m going to go for it. I tried to break her neck. She was screaming so I picked up the rock and started to hit her. The worst part was feeling and seeing her skull give way.”

On the morning of the killing the boy and his best friend had breakfast together. He texted Rebecca to arrange the meeting. Jurors were told of allegations that when he got up to leave his friend, he said: “The time has come.” The Prosecutor told the jury he was recorded on CCTV walking with Rebecca to the wood.

The prosecutor told the jury that the accused would say he had nothing to do with it and that Rebecca was killed by his best friend.

The two teenage boys were arrested after the discovery and detectives questioned both before charging one and releasing the other.

Note: This report was drawn from reports in the Daily Mirror, the Daily Mail, the Guardian, and the Glamorgan Gazette.

Died 22nd August 2010

Deborah Langmead and her best friend, Donna St John, both 35 year old mothers, were stabbed to death in Fortmead Close in Barnstaple in August 2010.

Donna’s estranged husband Neil Langmead (41), a builder, brutally killed the women at the property before setting fire to it. A jury at Exeter Crown Court found him guilty in June 2011. He will serve a minimum of 30 years.

The women were found almost side by side in the blood-soaked kitchen of the burning house. Both had been sexually assaulted and Deborah had been stripped from the waist down and sexually mutilated by Langmead, either as she lay unconscious or after she was dead.

Forensic pathologist, Dr Russell Delaney, told the jury that Deborah Langmead had suffered a genital stab wound which could only have been made if she was unable to fight back. He said: “Had she been conscious and able to resist, I would have expected to have seen significant injuries to external surfaces.” Semen was found on her legs. Dr Delaney said 19 stab wounds to her front and back would have caused death within minutes.

Donna St John was found with 12 stab wounds and her breasts exposed.

The court had heard that Langmead had a long history of domineering behaviour towards his wife and had been unable to accept that she had moved out of the family home and was starting divorce proceedings.

The jury was told that he had been issued with a warning by police for harassment a week before the killings for following his wife and sending her hundreds of text messages. She had been so worried about her estranged husband’s “obsessive” behaviour in the days before she died that she had asked her step father Brian Hooper to fit extra bolts to the front and back doors of her house.

Langmead told the jury that he killed his wife in self-defence after she killed her best friend Donna. Mr Justice Field, sentencing Langmead, said his defence at the trial had been a “tissue of lies” adding: “Both women were in their 30s, both had young children, both were entirely innocent. Neither did anything at all that could begin to justify what you did to them.”

The couple, who both had two children from previous relationships, began their relationship in 2005, moving in together with their children after three or four months together. However, Deborah left Langmead on several occasions. Her mother, Caroline Hooper, said she described him as a “control freak, obsessed with cleanliness” adding “She felt he was smothering her and she just wanted to breathe.”

After undergoing relationship counselling, they married in April 2009, but their relationship further deteriorated. Deborah moved out on 19 May 2010 and did not tell her husband where she was living. However, the court was told he found her after following her and members of her family.

On the night of their deaths the two women appear to have bumped into Langmead. It is not clear how and why he was in the house, though Donna was reported to have telephoned her boyfriend in the early hours and have informed him that the Langmeads had sorted things out. She was then heard to say: “What the hell are you doing?” before the line went dead.

Note: This report was compiled from reports from BBC News and the Bearsden Herald.

Died 18th September 2010

Siariah Letang, a little girl of 19 months, was killed in a fire at her grandmother Brenda Ricketts’ home in Arnould Avenue, Camberwell, London at about 4.30am on 18th September 2010. Petrol was deliberately poured through the letterbox of the maisonette and set alight. Five people were asleep upstairs.

Ellisha Letang (23), her mother Brenda Ricketts (46), and two children aged four and eleven, who were asleep at the time, suffered serious injury but survived. Siariah, Ellisha’s baby daughter, died in hospital from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning an hour after firefighters pulled the family from the blaze.

In June 2011, a jury at the Old Bailey heard allegations that Richard Kwakye (28) charged with murder, poured petrol through the letterbox and lit it in an act of revenge over the custody of a child and firearms allegations. Kwakye’s brother Dimitri John Lewis (19) is accused of supplying the petrol used for the attack.

According to the London Evening Standard, the Prosector Jonathan Rees QC, described it as “a truly dreadful case” and said “A severe fire took hold in the hall entrance. Flames and hot gases quickly spread to the internal staircase, preventing escape. Neighbours were woken by terrifying screams and the noise of the fire. They could see smoke billowing from the windows and went out to do what they could.”

The eldest occupant, Brenda Ricketts was screaming that the children were going to die. Mr Rees said: “Somebody shouted to her to open the window and throw the children down but in her panic she could not operate the catch and in a few minutes was overcome by the smoke.”

She had 17 per cent burns to her body and had to have significant surgery.
A boy of four escaped with no burns but suffered smoke inhalation and needed intensive care.

The 11-year-old girl had five per cent burns to her face, scalp and hands, which needed skin grafts. She also suffered from smoke inhalation. Siariah’s mother Ellisha suffered 32 per cent burns to her body and needed extensive surgery, the court heard.

Mr Rees said: “It was Kwakye who started the fire, intending to kill some of the occupants. It was a revenge attack in respect of wrongs he believed had been done to him and his partner by Ellisha and another man.”

The court heard Kwakye was seen near Ellisha Letang’s flat in Thornton Heath, South London, on the night of the fire. She noticed her door had been tampered with and took the children to her mother’s flat in Camberwell.

The jury was shown CCTV footage of Kwakye’s brother Dimitri John-Lewis filling a petrol can, which is alleged to have been the fuel used.

Kwakye and Dimitri John-Lewis have denied murder, two counts of attempted murder and arson.